OUTSIDE THE BOX
KID-SPEAKING BRAND PACKAGING
Creating a Visual Language that Appeals to Younger Generations by TED MININNI, president and creative director, Design Force HOW CAN WE REACH NEW GENERATions of consumers? Many marketers at mature consumer product companies ask themselves this question, as younger customers actively seek brands offering personalities and experiences that are relevant to them. You may think this is best left in the hands of disruptors—the brash brand startups and fearless entrepreneurs. While there are plenty of examples of these kinds of brands, there are also intriguing new launches from consumer product companies with deep heritages. Brands that market the most common products to millennials and their kids in a relevant manner are even more compelling. How do they achieve this? By creating brands that “kid speak.” In other words, they infuse brands with personality, quirkiness, and fresh appeal. Developing a unique visual and verbal language heightens the consumer’s experience with the brand based on its persona, which is integrated into every marketing platform. But no marketing vehicle can “kid speak” more persuasively than package design. POSITIVELY BUBLY WITH SUCCESS I liked the package design concept for bubly, PepsiCo’s sparkling water brand aimed at younger consumers, so I anticipated success for its launch last February. Remember, sparkling water is a commodity item and— as is the case in most beverage categories—there are endless choices. So how can you make this brand “kid speak?” Bold, new flavors, for one thing, and a unique delivery. bubly’s brightly colored cans, which feature a cool logo, carbonated bubbles, and smiles, clearly stand out among brands displayed in standard industry packaging. There are toothy smiles,
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THE TOY BOOK | FEBRUARY 2019 | toybook.com
smiles that sport mustaches, or tongues smacking smiling lips. Personality? Check. When consumers make eye contact with this packaging and step up to check it out, bubly literally greets them. The colorcoordinated pull tabs—part of the brand’s variety segmentation strategy—say “hiya,” “hey u,” and other colloquial greetings. While these custom pull tabs are an added expense for PepsiCo, they contribute to the customer experience with the brand. Consumers then read that all of the flavors are natural, which is very relevant to the younger demographic. Overall, the brand’s visual and verbal expressions clearly denote fun, but is this aligned with the company’s vision? PepsiCo’s press release on bubly’s launch reads, “PepsiCo today announced the launch of bubly, a new sparkling water that combines refreshing and delicious flavors with an upbeat and playful sense of humor to shake up the sparkling water category while keeping it real with no artificial flavors, no sweeteners, and no calories.” PepsiCo invites customers to #crackasmile, and that’s exactly what we do
when we see packaging smiling at us: We smile back. bubly’s brand, design, and experience came together to help PepsiCo beat its revenue forecasts. That isn’t bad for one of the world’s largest beverage companies, and one that doesn’t fit our contemporary image of a disruptor. NOT YOUR MOTHER’S MAKEUP When Sephora landed in New York City from France in 1998, the cosmetics retailer found the sweet spot to offer a new makeup buying experience for younger consumers. Sephora understood that millennials and younger consumers want to go into a store and try all of the products for themselves, reminiscent of the joy they experienced rummaging through their moms’ makeup bags as kids. Modern, upscale Sephora interiors beat drugstore makeup displays any day, and they’re far more accessible than the department store makeup counters staffed with labcoated makeup technicians. As you’d expect, Sephora’s stores are cool, but they also demonstrate how architectural branding can evolve to keep pace with young consumers, who are less inclined to hit the shopping malls. Just a year ago, the company opened a new store concept in Boston—Sephora Studio. At 2,000 square feet, this new beauty studio was the smallest Sephora store in the country. It began to offer consumers 45-minute makeovers and 15-minute facials on demand to foster a more intimate experience. But nothing is more central to the Sephora experience than its branded products. Last year’s launch of Sephora Collection’s #LIPSTORIES featured 40 shades of long-lasting lipsticks with a new, highly pigmented formula in